156 replies to this topic

[)-( Marchland Malady )-(]

You could give DarkMatt's two quests (Fun In The Sun: 8-Bit Extraordinaire, Fun In The Sun 2: Shadow Of The First) reviews.

[David]

have you started?

Yeah, I should be done with it by the end of Sunday, so look forward to the review!

You could give DarkMatt's two quests (Fun In The Sun: 8-Bit Extraordinaire, Fun In The Sun 2: Shadow Of The First) reviews.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep those in mind!

[David]

DaviAwesome's Demo Reviews #2

Sticks and Stones by trudatman and peteandwally

 

This demo's gameplay is similar to tLoZ. The BIG difference is the new graphics. Let's find out if this is a good thing or a bad thing, shall we?

 

Gameplay

As I said before, this demo plays, to some extent, similarly to tLoZ. However, you start on this screen, with no sword:

Stepping on that pond heals you.

 

The overworld progression is linear. Now, before you think this is a bad thing, it is not. The reason for this is because trudatman made this quest in a way that rewards you for exploring. He makes you enjoy exploring the overworld quite a bit, and that is a good thing. Also, this is very hard to pull off, but you did it very well, trudatman, so congrats on that factor!!

 

Now, the downside of the gameplay is that while the difficulty of the entire demo is slightly above average, which isn't bad, there are some completely unfair rooms. Here are some examples:

Really! I have only 3 three hearts and I have to defeat a Patra and a Magic Octorok!!!

 

Yeah, imagine how long it took me to defeat those... Basically, that is the true downside of this quest. There isn't anything else bad in the gameplay category, except maybe that the items can be hard to figure out what they are (because of the custom graphics, but that's okay, so let's move on!

 

Story

There is no story, and that is not bad at all.

 

Screen Design

Okay, this demo's custom graphics, while simple, are creative and full of imagination. They add a beautiful atmosphere to the overworld, something that can be challenging to apply. Rather than me explain, I'll post the usual screenshots:

Really creative and imaginative, don't you think?

 

There are also no screen bugs, as far as I know, which is really good!

 

However, I do have to talk a little bit about the subscreen. Here is a screenshot of it (with one item; this was an early one):

Look at the item that looks like a money bag, but is actually the arrows.

 

You see that? The selection thing is cutting off a little bit of the item picture. Either make the selection box bigger or the arrow item picture smaller. This is extremely minor, but it is something I found.

 

Also, before I move on to the music, the overworld design is very creative and solid. It looks great!

 

Music

The music in this quest fits very nicely with the theme. Great job on the music, peteandwally!

 

Concluding Thoughts/Summary

This demo, though not completely flawless, is a very creative and imaginative quest with custom graphics and tLoZ-like gameplay. It suffers in the fact that some of the screens house unfair enemies at the time, like fighting a Patra and a Magic Octorok with only 3 hearts. But, other than that, this quest is very solid!

 

Strengths

• Solid overworld progression and design
• Exploration feels rewarding and accomplishing
• Custom graphics are creative and imaginative, adding an amazing layer of atmosphere
• Good difficulty (on average)
• No screen bugs
• Amazing custom music

Weaknesses

• Some unfair enemies early on
• Small subscreen issues
• It can be hard to know what some items are (due to the custom graphics)

 

Rating: 8.5/10 (Great)

Database Rating: 4/5 (Good)

Edited by DaviAwesome, 29 December 2013 - 04:04 PM.

[Eddy]

Awesome review! I was soon going to actually play this for myself, good to read a review first to see what I'm up against before actually playing it.

[KingPridenia]

Yeah, Sticks and Stones is a pretty good quest. Graphics are minimal, but it's justified by the style of the game. Just proves graphics aren't everything.

[trudatman]

yay! thank you!

a small typo is "sunscreen" where you meant "subscreen." I have recently fixed the cheap bees (patra) screen enough to allow you to bypass that fight more easily. the radioactive/mutated dungbeetle (octorok) is also an enemy that can be skipped, especially after you beat him once and get the boomerang with which you can stun him in future encounters. that was the last screen you have a screenshot from; did you get much further? there is a lot after that.

hopefully I'll have another demo ready for the expo. that's about 36% likely.

[David]

yay! thank you!

a small typo is "sunscreen" where you meant "subscreen." I have recently fixed the cheap bees (patra) screen enough to allow you to bypass that fight more easily. the radioactive/mutated dungbeetle (octorok) is also an enemy that can be skipped, especially after you beat him once and get the boomerang with which you can stun him in future encounters. that was the last screen you have a screenshot from; did you get much further? there is a lot after that.

hopefully I'll have another demo ready for the expo. that's about 36% likely.

You're welcome! Yeah, spell check made the word sunscreen instead of sunscreen. I'll fix that. And yeah, I went farther than that, I just thought that at that point I already had enough screenshots to prove my points.

 

Great quest, I can't wait until it is finally complete!

[runa]

Are you planning on reviewing the expo demos? Just asking.

[David]

Are you planning on reviewing the expo demos? Just asking.

I probably might, though if there are too many, it'd obviously take long. But Goriya and I could split them up, or something.

[trudatman]

I know it can be annoying when I do this, but I felt the need to respond to several points.
 

....there are some completely unfair rooms....I have only 3 three hearts and I have to defeat a Patra and a Magic Octorok!...Yeah, imagine how long it took me to defeat those...

well, you don't have to defeat either. you can bypass both, although the octorok gives you the boomerang when you beat him, making subsequent visits to his screen of nuclear waste much easier. the patra you can just wait out. eventually he will go to the top or bottom of the screen and you can run by him. this will be easier in future demos because I expanded the path a bit. there is no real benefit to beating the patra.
 

....the items can be hard to figure out what they are....

agreed. I am open to suggestions.
 

....There is no story....

pretty much. there are themes and there is kind of a narrative, it's just not spelled out in words. I think this allows it to be a universal game. i know I don't play games in foreign languages and not everybody speaks English. the undeveloped second half will probably clear up the plot for those paying attention, but you could play through the whole thing and never notice that the quest is politically topical. you could also play through the quest and find yourself offended, so "I've got that going for me, which is nice."
 

....this demo's custom graphics....add a beautiful atmosphere to the overworld....

the whole quest is essentially overworld. the newest player versions give away the "dungeons" used to give out completion symbols (there is only one, so far). 2.5s show "level 1" on the map when you reach a boss room that is technically a duplicate of an overworld screen with a triforce piece on it. in 1.90 you may never notice an "underworld" screen.
 

....There are also no screen bugs....

I try to keep everything as well tested as popsicle. if anybody want to try to find problems with the quest, i very much encourage it because I am pretty much my only betatester. I'm going to try to refrain from ranting about this site's lack of focus on betatesting....
 

....the item that looks like a money bag....is actually the arrows....

that is your bag of stones. they are collected from beaten enemies and stray piles around the map. they are used for strong/long-distance attacks.
 

....The selection thing is cutting off a little bit of the item picture....

this is a limitation of 1.90. I am happy with the way it looks. does it bother anybody else? I think it becomes less of an issue as you collect more items. this quest has lots of items, so far.
 

....The music in this quest fits very nicely with the theme. Great job on the music, peteandwally!...

let's read it for our plural friend! he has done a great job with the music. I'm very much hoping he finds the time to finish up the other two tracks. if anybody wants to relieve him of those duties, he may be able to share the source material for what he has for the final battle theme, so far. PM him and pester him to take some action! I sure do.

thanks, again, for the great review, DaviAwesome! you sure are awesome! feedback is very much motivating. I hope to have a demo ready for the expo, but I'm not sure it's all that likely.

[David]

My responses are in red.

well, you don't have to defeat either. you can bypass both, although the octorok gives you the boomerang when you beat him, making subsequent visits to his screen of nuclear waste much easier. the patra you can just wait out. eventually he will go to the top or bottom of the screen and you can run by him. this will be easier in future demos because I expanded the path a bit. there is no real benefit to beating the patra.

 

Yeah, I figured that out once I went through there quite a bit of times. Though having to beat a magic Octorok with three heats to get an item is still unfair to some degree.
 
agreed. I am open to suggestions.

 

​The only reason that I think this is because the way the item looks can be confusing. But it isn't that bad of a problem.

 

pretty much. there are themes and there is kind of a narrative, it's just not spelled out in words. I think this allows it to be a universal game. i know I don't play games in foreign languages and not everybody speaks English. the undeveloped second half will probably clear up the plot for those paying attention, but you could play through the whole thing and never notice that the quest is politically topical. you could also play through the quest and find yourself offended, so "I've got that going for me, which is nice."

 

Yeah, that makes sense.
 
the whole quest is essentially overworld. the newest player versions give away the "dungeons" used to give out completion symbols (there is only one, so far). 2.5s show "level 1" on the map when you reach a boss room that is technically a duplicate of an overworld screen with a triforce piece on it. in 1.90 you may never notice an "underworld" screen.

 

Yeah, that makes sense.
 
I try to keep everything as well tested as popsicle. if anybody want to try to find problems with the quest, i very much encourage it because I am pretty much my only betatester. I'm going to try to refrain from ranting about this site's lack of focus on betatesting....

 

It's is good to test a lot!
 
that is your bag of stones. they are collected from beaten enemies and stray piles around the map. they are used for strong/long-distance attacks.

 

Okay, that makes more sense.
 
this is a limitation of 1.90. I am happy with the way it looks. does it bother anybody else? I think it becomes less of an issue as you collect more items. this quest has lots of items, so far.

 

I see. I didn't know that.

thanks, again, for the great review, DaviAwesome! you sure are awesome! feedback is very much motivating. I hope to have a demo ready for the expo, but I'm not sure it's all that likely.

 

You're welcome! Thank you! I hope you are able to get a demo ready!

Edited by DaviAwesome, 31 December 2013 - 07:03 PM.

[TheLegend_njf]

He rated your quest better than the database review.

I believe Sticks and Stones is a great quest. It's challenging and fun, and a good way to kill an hour of time.

It's no epic deep long adventure, but it was never intended to be.

[trudatman]

he rated it 4/5 in both places. I don't understand, I guess.

I figure when it's done it'll be a two-hour tour.

[DarkFlameWolf]

Not going to suggest any quests, but there needs to be more reviews up in here!

[David]

Yeah, I agree. I will make much more reviews once the expo starts, so look forward to that!